Normally I never enter a password when installing windows. I find it an unnecessary step to getting into the OS on a private, at home system unless there is good reason for it.

So that is exactly how I installed 8.1 on the system I built for mom. However, in the ensuing months at some point in time she had her OS linked to her email account. I am not familiar with this particular OS and want to know how to get rid of this annoyance. I found this "solution". Is this !#%^ for real?

I don't think mom knew what she was getting into when she did this but M$ linking everything to everything else is a HUGE security risk. It it why the unlinked multiple hotmail/livemail accounts. So, why this? Bah!

There's also corporate style profile functionality that can travel with you to different PCs. It's handy if you have several different PCs, but as far as I can tell lacks the important fine adjustment to settings that corporate profiles would have available to their IT.

I don't see why you think linking your MS account to log into Windows is a security risk though. It makes your PC more secure as it is now password protected. Having no password on your PC obviously has security risks. Also MS account security has improved quite a bit, you now are emailed/texted a security code when you attempt to login from a foreign device. Likewise I believe they have an authenticator app for your phone too if you want to be even more secure with 2-step authentication.

And just for the record, you do not need to use your MS account to install Windows. If you click "Create new Microsoft Account" there's another link at the bottom that lets you skip it. Also entering an invalid email/password prompts you to create a local account too.

You can also use the classic Sysinternals: Autologon
I don't see why you think linking your MS account to log into Windows is a security risk though. It makes your PC more secure as it is now password protected. Having no password on your PC obviously has security risks. Also MS account security has improved

Believe me when I say my mom does not need to password her computer. She literally drives to her bank 150km's away to do her banking. She surfs the web and looks for recipes and chats with family on facebook. Oh, and streams netflix via her Wii.

Thanks for the info guys. Now I can get her computer to stop asking for her password every time she boots it up.

I don't see why you think linking your MS account to log into Windows is a security risk though. It makes your PC more secure as it is now password protected. Having no password on your PC obviously has security risks. Also MS account security has improved quite a bit, you now are emailed/texted a security code when you attempt to login from a foreign device. Likewise I believe they have an authenticator app for your phone too if you want to be even more secure with 2-step authentication.

And just for the record, you do not need to use your MS account to install Windows. If you click "Create new Microsoft Account" there's another link at the bottom that lets you skip it. Also entering an invalid email/password prompts you to create a local account too.

Autologon does not work for Windows 7 or Windows 8. You have to do this manually if you want to and its a pain in the ass.